Years ago, I published a summary of this on my web site : http://www.matra-bagheera.com/Plan/Bagheera/Racing/racing.htmlSo, in 1976, 1977, 1978, a Bagheera was engaged in UK in the prestigious Lombard RAC Rally !In 1977, they tried (and succeeded) to broke their car on the awfully difficult Acropolis rallyIn 1978 and 1979, they went to Iceland for the 1000 tracks !And in 1979 and 1980, to Portugal.

But who where they ?

Francis Chopy & Roland TherondOne was a racing journalist but I have to find back which one. Roland has founded an oldtimer insurance group : Retroassur

What car did they used ? At least 2 : A serie 1 and a Serie 2. Specially developed by Matra with thinner gauged chassis and plenty of cutting. (If I remember well there was no boot.

Some pictures :

See my web site : Ihave to realized that a Polish guy copied several pictures without understanding who is what, so beware.

What about their victory on 1978 french tour auto ? Well I mighthave been overenthousiastic when I wrote this and ... several stupids copied my mystake.Actually they finnished at the 11 positionThey got a class victory only, running under the 1300 cc limit

I purchased this picture in the late 1970's and was told that it was from the RAC Rally of 1977 (maybe the one we saw while spectating in Grisedale and which started our 30+ year love affair with the Bagheera).

Therond and Chopy have been running with 2 Bagheera and (at least) 1 Murena.The first Bagheera was a Serie 1 (AM75 probably)The second, the "confiture Boin" already illustrated is still to be seen in Romorantin museum.It was an AM77 model of begining of 1978.

It had been homologated as GR4.As far as the engine preparation is concerned, it was very limited. - 1290 cc engine- Same Camshaft profile as the first R2 : type 3555- 2 DCNF 40 carbs- Same valves as origin (no bigger size)- A Devil 4 into 1 collector and exhaust (I have some docs somewhere explaining that the devil was actually lowering the power)A total mesured power of 99 BHP was mesuredFor the gearbox, some comments where made that with the available power, a limited slip differential wasn't needed. The only modification there was a 16/65 unit was used.

The weight was down by 150 Kg and because of this they used the smaller brake servo of 6 inch in order to avoid blocking th wheels

As far as the engine preparation is concerned, it was very limited. - 1290 cc engine- Same Camshaft profile as the first R2 : type 3555- 2 DCNF 40 carbs- Same valves as origin (no bigger size)- A Devil 4 into 1 collector and exhaust (I have some docs somewhere explaining that the devil was actually lowering the power)A total mesured power of 99 BHP was mesured

That is indeed a relatively cheap tune. Engine was chosen to be below 1300?

They must have done a good deal of headwork and used racing components, but otherwise the engine appears to be not not too much in focus?

I'm not sure what you mean by the cam profile. Is that similar to the one Politecnic currently sells?

I would have thought they would have gone for the DCOE carbs insted of the DCNF as they are better suited for racing (easier to work on on the track) and would have allowed for longer intake horns, but at least they went up to the larger 40's from the Bagheera's standard carbs.

Your comment about the exhaust is also interesting. I'd like to hear more about that.

Quote

For the gearbox, some comments where made that with the available power, a limited slip differential wasn't needed. The only modification there was a 16/65 unit was used.

The weight was down by 150 Kg and because of this they used the smaller brake servo of 6 inch in order to avoid blocking th wheels

They must have done a good deal of headwork and used racing components,

Nearly no headwork, standard components ...

Quote from: Anders Dinsen

I would have thought they would have gone for the DCOE carbs insted of the DCNF as they are better suited for racing (easier to work on on the track) and would have allowed for longer intake horns, but at least they went up to the larger 40's from the Bagheera's standard carbs.

Why would it be easier to work on ?

I'll show you an inlet manifold I have for DCOE's. (would also suit 1600 cc) If you mount it, you can barely change the plugs. Longer intake horns, no because the space is limited, + the links if they are below the carbs ...

They must have done a good deal of headwork and used racing components,

Nearly no headwork, standard components ...

Hmm... at least that makes it cheap to replicate.

Quote

Why would it be easier to work on ?

Because you can change the jets on the DCOE's by just removing the jet cover. Same with venturis: Just pull them out. With the DCNF carbs you have to remove the top lid of the carb, risking damage to the gasket, fuel spill etc. So it's not that easy when you are on the track or at the rally, whereas the DCOE's are so easy to work with.

Quote

I'll show you an inlet manifold I have for DCOE's. (would also suit 1600 cc) If you mount it, you can barely change the plugs. Longer intake horns, no because the space is limited, + the links if they are below the carbs ...

DCNF 40 are a piece of cake to mount.

I didn't think of the plugs! Well if you don't need to do much tuning, the DCNF carbs are quite ideal then.

Well the DCNF is a down draft carburettor and was original fitment to the Bagheera. It was also used in Ferrari 308 and many other cars. A very good carb for a sports car! Bagheera used a 36 DCNF, but a 40 is also available. The number refers to the size of the barrel and puts a limitation on the largest possible primary venturi possible. A 40 will allow more air through in the top, but on a small engine, the low end may gasp and suffer from poor emulsification of the fuel.

Due to the way the DCNF is constructed, jets can't be changed without removing the lid of the carburettor complete with float and fuel hoses. That's not a problem on a road car, but on race cars, you usually prefer the tuning possibilities.

Here's an exploded view of the DCNF. Jets are no 8, 14, 18. You have to lift the cover #1 to get access to them. The float 12 is attached to the cover.

DCOE carbs are sidedraught and are available in 40 and 45. They are side draught and fits horisontally on the engine. This takes a good deal of space as can be seen in the photo album here which I have made documenting my own DCOE project on my Murena 2.2:http://gallery.dinsen.net/v/biler/Matra/technical/carb/40dcoe/

As you can see, the Murena engine room does not leave much space for the airbox, but still allowed me to fit 39 mm intake horns. The 2.2 Murena has the spark plugs on the exhaust side, but the Bagheera engine has them on the intake side - meaning they will be covered by the manifold and carbs. As Spyros suggests - not particularly service friendly.